14 DAY TRIAL // We’ve known for a while that WhatsApp was working on bringing voice and video calls to the desktop, and this week, the company officially rolled out these new capabilities for users out there.
More specifically, you can now make voice and video calls right from a PC using WhatsApp Desktop, though the biggest shortcoming is that your phone still needs to allow the access on the desktop.
In other words, WhatsApp Desktop can’t work without a mobile phone, and the new feature currently supports only the 64-bit version of Windows 10 version 1903 and newer and macOS 10.13 or later.
For the time being, group calls aren’t supported on the desktop, but this is something that WhatsApp is likely working on already, so expect more information in this regard to be shared at a later time.
What you need for WhatsApp calls on the desktop
As I said before, you need to configure WhatsApp Desktop with a mobile device before anything else to be able to make the calls.
An active Internet connection is also required on both the computer and the mobile phone, and while the calls wouldn’t go through the phone, WhatsApp says it needs to be online to establish the call.
Needless to say, the feature also requires speakers or headphones to hear the person at the other end of the line, a microphone to be able to speak, as well as a camera for video calls.
And last but not least, WhatsApp needs access to all these peripherals to be able to run.
“When users share Word files, the sharing e-mail will now include new information like estimated time to read as well as key points in the document. This will help recipients decide how to engage with the shared document. Note that files that have been marked as sensitive by DLP will not include this information,” the company explains.